


It's Me

by randomfandomimagine



Series: Imagines (Reader Insert) [10]
Category: Hunger Games Series - All Media Types
Genre: Alliances, F/M, Hunger Games, Protectiveness, Tribute Reader
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-07
Updated: 2018-10-07
Packaged: 2019-07-27 14:22:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,473
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16220918
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/randomfandomimagine/pseuds/randomfandomimagine
Summary: Requested by @emmastudiesandreads:Hi! I was wondering if I could have a Peeta Mellark one shot where the reader is Gale’s little sister and she ends up in District 9 as one of the tributes? She would catch Peeta’s attention in the cornucopia and he would make it his mission to protect her?





	It's Me

The countdown to the Hunger Games began.

10, 9, 8, 7…

The Tributes looked around to take a look at their surroundings, to the people they were to fight against, to the Cornucopia and the supplies they could have.

6, 5, 4…

Peeta forgot about that which the rest of them did. The boy from District 12 completely drifted away from those strategic thoughts when his eyes landed upon her.

He had never seen anyone so scared, which was saying something. But that poor girl was shaking so much that she could barely stand in the platform.

Peeta felt incredibly sorry for her and realized how cruel the Capitol was to put someone so innocent and unprepared in that killing spree. It was unfair and just heartbreaking.

3, 2, 1…

When the cannon that announced that the games had started sounded, the girl let out a terrified screech and flinched as thought something was lunging towards her. He frowned at the sight.

But the boy shook his head, telling himself that he had more important things to worry about that her. He didn’t even know her name!

So Peeta just ran forward as fast as he could, keeping in mind that he needed to maybe pick something up from the Cornucopia and then run away from the rest of them.

He needed to hide from those blood-thirsty Tributes. He had to survive.

*

Peeta sat up restlessly, unable to fall asleep despite his exhaustion and the fact that it had turned to night. Or the Capitol’s simulation of the night in the arena anyway.

Even though he had been focusing all day in surviving and his technique and strategy to get out alive, something nagged him. A thought that brought a bitter taste to his mouth. ‘That girl is going to die immediately’.

He had been surprised not to hear any cannons during the first night. But he was glad to know the girl was still alive, that she was fighting despite the overwhelming fear that was consuming her.

Peeta had noticed her. He watched the look of pure terror that her eyes displayed, the visible shake of her hands and her quick breathing pattern.

He didn’t know the girl’s name. He hadn’t even heard about a girl like her in the Hunger Games before during his training, she was so out of place. Or maybe it was that he did but she was so insignificant and unimportant that he didn’t pay attention to her at first.

So he pursed his lips together in determination and stood from his lying position in the cold hard ground, wanting to look for her and help.

He wouldn’t be able to live with himself if he didn’t help her. That poor girl wasn’t trained to kill like the Tributes from the first Districts were. It was unfair.

She just was unfortunate enough that her name was pulled out and had no one to volunteer for her. It reminded him of Katniss and her sister, what would have happened to poor Prim if Katniss hadn’t volunteered to save her from that terrible fate.

Hence, the boy kept on walking silently around the arena, trying to find her.

*

The girl kept her eyes open, even fearing to blink.

It felt like anyone would show up any second, like anything could happen in a moment and that would be it. That would be the end, she would be dead.

She had done all she could during the training, she had learned whatever was at her reach, she listened to all advices she could get and had tried her best to be prepared. But she wasn’t.

Compared to the Tributes from the first Districts, who learned how to kill since they were little, she was nothing. She was nothing even compared to the least valuable Tribute, she felt useless and vulnerable.

Alert, scared and terrified, she cuddled over herself in an attempt to stop shaking once and for all. She needed to eat, to sleep, to drink, but her mind wouldn’t let any of those things to happen. It influenced her body.

Suddenly something sparked her attention. A nearby sound that hitched her heart beat up and caused her to struggle to breathe, causing a heavy void in her chest, the clutch of fear.

For a moment she lingered on the silence, trying to hear anything else. But the fear kicked in and she felt the urge to try and find out if someone was actually there. It probably was her imagination, her own apprehension playing tricks on her mind.

“Who’s there?” She exclaimed, shaking like a leaf but trying to sound intimidating.

“It’s me!” A blond boy with kind blue eyes appeared from behind the trees. “Peeta”

She rushed to her feet so fast that she lost balance and fell back again. Frightened, she slapped her hands on her mouth to stop herself from screaming out. To avoid telling everyone else her location.

“It’s okay, it’s okay” Peeta urged himself to calm her down, watching how pale she turned and how her eyes begged for mercy.

“Please… don’t hurt me… P-p-p-lease…” The girl shook her head in resignation and defeat. “Or at least do it fast, please… I can’t live like this anymore”

“Hey” Very slowly, he walked closer and kneeled next to her. Unarmed, cautious and with his hands up to show he meant no harm. “Don’t worry, I’m not going to hurt you”

Despite his reassuring words and his sweet and calming tone, the girl didn’t trust him yet. He could just be trying to fool her just to get rid of her when she less expected it.

“If I wanted to kill you, I wouldn’t have announced my presence, would I?” He tried to approach the situation logically instead.

She was visibly suspicious still, but at least the girl managed to breathe again.

“What’s your name?” Peeta asked hoping he would finally know it.

“Y/N” She whispered, looking up at him with big puppy eyes.

“I’m Peeta” He repeated, offering a hand for her to take.

With a shaky and flinching hand, she squeezed his and allowed him to pull her up.

“Are you hurt?”

Y/N shook her head in silence, observing him without blinking. Like a deer that stares at its predator in the hopes that it won’t hurt it.

“I could use someone to watch my back” He began to say with a small smile. “What do you say if we help each other out?”

Y/N wanted to trust Peeta, he looked genuinely kind and good. But her instinct told her no one or no thing was to be trusted in the Hunger Games.

However, she took a chance. It was the only thing she had left, and as he said, he had the opportunity to silently kill her and didn’t.

“It would be nice” Y/N replied humorlessly, trying to break away once she noticed they were still holding hands.

Peeta let her and showed the girl his best smile. He tried to act nonchalant to cheer her up, to make her forget about the fear and to help her trust him.

“Great” He plopped down on the floor with a grimace. “Want some water?”

*

The next day Y/N woke up startled. She had a nightmare, but it was still there when she opened her eyes and awoke. She was still in the arena, fighting for her life.

And she had fallen asleep! How was she still alive?! Anyone could have killed her in her sleep!

“Are you okay?” A voice, even though sweet and gentle, made her jump in surprise.

The girl looked there to see a blond boy with beautiful blue eyes that right then were filled with concern. Peeta Mellark, the baker boy from District 12.

“It was a nightmare” Y/N quickly said, rubbing her face to get rid of the remnants of the dream.

“But are you-?”

“I’m fine”

Peeta glanced down, resigned to speak to her. He could understand that after spending only some hours together she still doubted his good intentions.

“Wait” Y/N observed him curiously, almost intrigued. “Have you been awake all night?”

“Yes”

“What? Why?”

“Well” Peeta shrugged a little, glaring at her timidly. “You fell asleep, and I wanted us to be safe”

“You kept guard while I was sleeping?” The girl was honestly shocked by the immense kindness he displayed, it was almost surreal.

That someone as kind and gentle as Peeta ended up in that place, where people had to mercilessly kill each other to survive.

The boy nodded, shyly pursing his lips as he glanced at her. For the first time since they encountered, Y/N looked at him. Really looked at him, almost as seeing him for the first time.

“Thank you” She whispered in awe, carefully watching him.

Then he responded with a beautiful and tender smile that made her heart stir. His presence suddenly meant a reminder for Y/N. A reminder that even in the darkest of places there could exist a light.

“We should move now” Peeta absently offered her his hand. “It’s not smart to stay in one place for too long”

Slowly but steadily and not flinching like the other time, she held his hand. The boy helped her stand up and pierced her with his eyes for just one moment.

Unlike before, Y/N didn’t want to pull away. She had realized how comforting and calming his warm touch could be.

A hunch told her that she could trust Peeta with her life. However, she wanted to test it before she made up her mind about trusting him.

“Do you…” She began to say sheepishly. “Have a weapon I could carry? To defend myself”

The boy nodded quickly and handed her a knife without hesitation. A knife that she could use against him, to kill him and get rid of him as an adversary, just like that.

But Peeta hadn’t hesitated to trust her with a weapon, because he trusted her.

“Let’s go, Y/N” He began to leave their camping spot, but she didn’t follow at first.

The girl held the knife in her hand and stared at it in deep thought. Then she glanced up to Peeta as he slowly walked away from her.

“Peeta” She called him, making him turn around.

“Yes?” He dedicated her a calm and patient smile that made her feel safe somehow.

“Thank you for everything”

“No problem”

As he friendly grinned widely at her, Y/N approached him and rested her hand on his arm as a sign of trust and friendship.

Then they smiled at each other and began their departure.

*

The third day was quite a challenging one. Peeta and Y/N had become inseparable and they would fight to the death anyone who threatened the other.

Together, they had survived and overcome the arena’s perils as well as the hunger, dehydration, exhaustion and the own danger that the other Tributes implied. They had protected each other and kept the other company.

And they had learned to love each other, growing very fond of their companionship.

Peeta had asked for her to stay put while he looked around for something to eat close by in the arena, so she had resigned and stayed by herself there.

She waited for him restlessly, knowing that any time a cannon could echo over her head like a bad omen. But she tried to keep her cool and not worry about him, because Y/N knew he could fend for himself.

Suddenly someone ran by at full speed, who Y/N recognized as a Tribute from District 7. And she knew that someone was chasing her or that she was trying to escape one of the traps of the arena.

Whatever the case, Y/N had to run to safety herself. And warn Peeta.

Immediately, the girl jumped to her feet, quickly grabbed her stuff and began running. Peeta was nearby, he was in danger too!

Y/N began to run around the arena as fast as she could, looking everywhere for Peeta to try and find him to at least warn him.

But a sound made her stop dead on her tracks. A cannon.

“Oh, no…” Y/N whispered in dread, feeling her throat suddenly dry and her lungs suddenly empty. “Peeta”

She ran around the arena, calling his name, but he wouldn’t answer back. The sound of the cannon echoed in her mind like a harbinger of death. Of his death.

“No, no, no, no, no…” Y/N begged as she kept on chasing the hope to find him alive. “Please, Peeta, no…”

It felt like the girl ran around the arena for such a long time, even if she probably spent around two minutes doing so. She could barely breathe anymore, both from the concern and from the physical effort. Her eyes became watery and her mind felt fuzzy and confused.

So when she bumped into someone her first reaction was to cringe in fear.

“Ah, no!” Y/N closed her eyes tight as she tried to wriggle away from the hands that suddenly were trying to hold her. “Don’t hurt me!”

“Y/N relax, it’s just me!” Peeta told her, hugging her tight and trying his best to calm her down. “It’s me”

When she heard his voice, Y/N glanced at him and stared for a moment in complete shock before she could react.

“Peeta, I heard the cannon… You scared me, I thought they killed you, I-“ The girl was interrupted by her own sobs.

“Hey, don’t cry” He gently smiled at her, knowing that sight always somehow comforted her. “I’m here, I’m okay. We’re okay… Don’t cry, Y/N”

The girl shoved her face on his shoulder and squeezed him tightly, embracing the fact that he was alive and well. The other Tributes hadn’t touched him, and the cannon was announcing someone else’s death.

It felt messed up that someone else’s death relieved her so much. But that just was the place she had been placed in.

Peeta held her tight, rubbing her back soothingly and softly whispering things to calm her down. Y/N had begun to shake and would need a moment to stop crying.

“Don’t worry, we’re fine” The boy gave her a soft kiss on the head. “It’s gonna be alright”

Feeling relieved and better already, she broke the hug and looked up at him. It was incredible how stupidly safe she felt because Peeta was there with her now.

“Better?”

“Yeah”

“Let’s go, I think 1 and 2 are around here”

Y/N nodded in agreement, feeling no fear for the first time since she was put in the arena.

They could face anything as long as they were together.


End file.
